Detained

Lara opened her eyes painfully and forgot where she was for a moment. The ceiling didn't look familiar to her and so she was ready to pounce and kill her captor...only, there was no captor and everything came flushing back. She relaxed as she realized she was in a hostel just outside France's borders. Her journey from Prague had been long and arduous, but at least she was here and she was well. She had thought rest would come easily and refreshingly – but it did neither. Instead her eyes sagged even more and she felt even more exhausted than when she wasn't sleeping. She longed for home where she could recuperate properly...Winston would be such a help to her. But she was here and she was evading the law, so her defenses were always on guard, and that can be quite fatiguing. Her feet felt like sandbags – and their only purpose was to weigh her down.

She had thought long and hard about what she was going to do about her criminal status and had decided that she was going to turn herself in – not as a criminal of course, but as a witness to the activities of the Cabal. She would cross the borders and be taken into Paris to face the police. She'd only hope they'd listen. First things first however...she had to phone home. She'd been gone for longer than she'd told Winston, and even though he was used to her antics, perhaps his being in Paris would aid in her release.

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"Winston? It's Lara..." she spoke into the phone.

"Lara? Are you all right? I don't think you've ever called me from one of you expeditions..." Winston's withered voice responded, "Have you spoken with Von Croy?"

'My God, does he never read the news or watch television?' Lara thought.

"Perhaps you should turn the tele on Winston. Von Croy is dead, and I was framed for his murder – while I was still in the room," Lara explained. The voice on the other end did not respond for a few moments.

"Winston? Are you there?" Lara inquired.

"Y...Yes Lara. It's just that...it...it's not a good time," he replied.

"What? What are you talking about? Is something going on? I'm not a bloody murderer if that's what you think..." Lara said incredulously.

"N...No, not at all...I just...I have to hang up now Lara," Winston said with a shakiness in his voice that struck a chord with Lara.

"Winston, is everything alr..." Lara started, but before she could finish, she heard a click signaling Winston had hung up.

'Something is off. Winston has known me since I was young... he can't seriously think that I've gone and murdered Von Croy,' Lara thought to herself, 'I'll have to get home...but who knows how long that will take...I must get to France, the sooner I do this, the sooner I can clear my name and get home.'

And so Lara got into her stolen SUV and made her way to the French border. Her heart beat slightly faster than usual as she waited in a line of vehicles at the border. Closer and closer she crept until she spoke to a French officer. He immediately recognized her face but didn't show it.

"Pleez step ouut of the vehicle Mademoiselle," the officer said. Lara obeyed.

'How do they know I speak English?' Lara thought, and just as soon as she did, she knew that they knew who she was. Every bone in her body wanted to take a swing at the officer and escape, but she had to resist the temptation to fight and flee...she had to be cooperative – it made for a better chance of clearing her name.

"I'm Lara Croft, and I'd like to speak with the police in Paris regarding the Monstrum killings," Lara told him plainly. After hearing what she had just said, it sounded rather weak and stupid.

"There will be plenty of that," the officer scoffed.

"I'm going willingly. Remember that," Lara reminded. Some other officers restrained Lara and led her off to one of their own vehicles.

"Murders and a stolen caar? Quite the busy lady you heve been," one of the officers remarked from the driver's seat of the vehicle. Lara was in the back trying to keep her temper.

"Were you going to drive any time soon or were you waiting for me to escape first? Of course, a challenge isn't exactly you forte. Seems to me like you couldn't capture me without my help," Lara quipped. The officer's face turned red with anger and he sped the car off, followed by two other vehicles.

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"You know, I never figured you for the Monstrum," a French investigator named Maurice Zetti spoke to Lara. She was now in an interrogation room back in Paris.

"And I never figured that someone around here spoke fluent English, but then again, life is full of surprises, now isn't it?" Lara replied.

"So are you admitting to being the Monstrum?" Zetti said and raised his eyebrows.

"No, of course not. I didn't kill anyone," Lara spoke calmly. Zetti looked at her for a moment and opened his mouth to speak again.

"So, you expect me to believe all this Cabal, Eckhardt, and Karel business?" Zetti spoke as he took a seat across from Lara.

"Yes, because it's true," Lara said. She had to admit it though; her story was a hard one to swallow. Zetti stared at her for another moment and suddenly changed his attitude.

"Then I suppose it's lucky we've received word from Interpol about an underground society, the Cabal...and it's lucky that two more murders occurred after you were already seen in Prague. Well, lucky for you...not for the victims," he stated. Lara couldn't believe her ears, were they letting her go?

"Does this mean I'm free to go?" Lara asked outright. Zetti laughed and lit a cigarette.

"Not quite. I still need a little more information from you," he said.

"About what?" Lara asked knitting her eyebrows.

"What do you know of a young man riding a motorcycle using the name John Wayne?"

Hope you enjoyed it! So sorry for the delay! Review please!